Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Jasper's POV

Beads of sweat run down my face and neck, drenching my shirt. I have managed to take off the black jacket I was wearing.

My brain is messed up. I can't think, I can't form coherent words, my vision is as blurry as ever; nothing is right with me. The worse part is these constant spastic fits that won't go away. My heart is pounding in my chest like it's going to burst.

The vehicle we are inside shakes a little, worsening my situation. I place my head on the shoulder of the person sitting close to me as I struggle to breathe.

I manage to hear Kevin yell something at someone. He must be the one I'm leaning on and it sounds like he's talking about me.

‘Yeah, I probably look like a dead body now.’

"He's pale... He's shaking!..." I zone out as I feel my eyes roll back and my body begin to shake violently.

"...needs help!" I hear someone yell but the sound is distant. I manage to open my eyes but instead of the roof of the van we are in, I see a cloud of thick dark smoke. My eyes snap shut.

~"You're so crazy, Jasper! I can't believe you were able to pull this off!" Laughter.

"Jasper, hit the brakes!" A crash. Her innocent and once happy face staring straight at me, now pale with blood dripping from the side of her mouth. Dead.

I open my mouth to scream her name but a violent wind blows me away and suddenly, I'm falling into a never ending pit I can only describe as guilt. I hear my father's voice, berating me. I feel myself wanting nothing else than to die. Everything goes black.

'Daughter and sister'. That is what is written on the gravestone I'm currently knelt in front of. The sight of it makes my heart jump and my blood run cold. I try to jump to my feet but something is holding me down.

I swore never to come here. Even if I wanted to, no one; not her family, not mine would let her murderer visit her grave.

I stare at the next words. 'Audrey Latoya Franklin'. A tear escapes my eye. I open my mouth to begin to beg her and tell her that I never meant for anything to happen but the same violent wind hits me again.

This time, I'm thrown into water. I try to swim but can't. The force is pushing me down really fast. I close my eyes.

I can hear a faint beeping sound. The pain in my head and chest is unbearable. The beeping grows louder and slowly, my eyes begin to open.

The light intensity increases the pounding in my head and I try to squint. Moving my head slowly to the side, I’m disoriented by what I see.

I'm lying on a bed. There's a machine close to my head; the one that's been beeping. The walls are white.

‘Where am I?’

It's when I manage to raise my hand that I feel something stuck inside. A needle. My eyes widen and I look around one more time; this time, with clearer vision.

The beeping machine is a heart monitor. The needle sticking in my hand is connected to a drip tube. The white walls are those of a hospital room.

‘I'm in a hospital.’

Suddenly, I get flashes of when I was last in a hospital.

‘I need to get up.’

With my free hand, I jerk the needle out of my hand and struggle to get up but a gasp coming from beside me makes me stop to look up.

"Jasper," mum breathes, coming closer and engulfing me in a hug.

‘How did I not see her there?’

"Oh my God, are you okay? I was so worried. Let me get the doc―" I grab her arm to stop her and that's when she takes in the fact that the drip is off and there's a little dot of blood on my hand. Her eyes widen.

"Jasper! Why did you take it off?" she asks, picking the needle up as if she can fix it back in.

I open my mouth to talk but nothing comes out. As if knowing what I need, she picks a cup of water from the side table and presses it against my mouth. In a few large gulps, I empty the cup.

"I need to get out," I finally formulate. Mum sends me a confused look.

"Just wait here okay? I'll get the doctor."

"No! You know how much I hate this place. Please mum, I need to get out. I can't stay here," I plead but she only returns the same expression.

Suddenly, my breathing changes and I begin to feel the urgency to leave grow. Ignoring her completely, I swing my legs over the other side of the bed and wince at the heaviness I feel.

"What are you doing?" mum asks but I remain silent as I pull myself from the bed. "Doctor! Anybody there?" she yells, not taking her eyes off me.

I look at her with frightened eyes but she yells the same words again. Feeling like I'm forced to pull two sacks of potatoes with each leg, I try to hobble to the door quickly but I'm met by a well built man rushing in. He's wearing scrubs, signifying that he is a staff of the hospital.

He quickly signals to some unseen people outside and two more men rush in. Seeing that they'll overpower me if I try to run, I begin to plead.

"Please, I need to leave. I don't like this place." I let out a ragged breath.

"Jasper, please calm down. We're here to help you," the first man says.

‘Does he not see that I don't need their help? They can't help me!’

I shake my head frantically. "No." And with that, I decide to try my luck with force but as expected, in the space of a few seconds, I'm overpowered. They shove me back on the bed and the first man picks up an injection.

Knowing that he is about to send me back into that dark world I found myself earlier, I drop my fight with the other two and face mum.

"Mum please, don't let him do―" The words don't come out completely when I feel the needle pricking my skin and the liquid inside being pressed in. It takes only a few seconds to start to feel drowsy again but before I pass out, I espy the door opening and my father stepping in.

***

"Jasper, hit the brakes!" A crash.

'Daughter and sister'. The gravestone.

"All you ever do is bring shame to this family!" Dad's booming voice.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're my son!" His voice again.

Stinging pain shoots through my cheek as a hand connects with it.

"Lawrence! You can't do this now. He didn't do it on purpose." Mum's voice.

"Shut up!" Dad.

The wind comes and sweeps me away. It feels like there's a heavy load on my chest and I can't breathe.

I find myself on a chair in a room. My head won't move so I can look around. I feel the force around me, strong.

A light comes on, forcing me to squint. A girl is seated on a similar chair, facing me. She looks so familiar but I can't really put a name to the face.

I open my mouth to speak and as usual, the force pulls me back into total blackness.

Opening my eyes feels like lifting a weight. I squint at the glaring brightness. I move my head to look around but my neck aches.

‘Why is my whole body aching?’

I wince when I finally get a view of the room. Same place I was the last time I woke up. But mum is not here and I take it as my chance to escape.

The stupid drip is still stuck in my left hand when I look down. I try to lift my right arm but a cold metal impedes the movement. I try again, this time forcefully but the same metal pulls my hand back down.

My head whips in the direction of my right hand and I'm shocked at what I see. I've been cuffed to the bed! Alarm begins to rise within me, making me try to jiggle free from the restraint but the cuffs won't budge. My heart rate picks up speed and I struggle to breathe.

‘Why am I so desperate to get out? It's just a hospital!’ I try to assure myself but it's not working.

As I wonder about this, the door cracks open and my blood runs cold. My father is standing there with a policeman. Dad has a hard look on his face but the officer looks like he's pitying me.

They step in and my father gestures for the man to sit. He obeys and dad places his hands in his pockets as he stares hard at me.

"Jasper, how are you? My name is Mike." The officer's voice is firm as he speaks. He didn't bother mentioning his rank or anything. A nod and gulp from me makes him continue.

"I have some questions to ask you about what happened three nights ago. I hope you cooperate." This statement forces me to find my voice.

"Three nights a-ago?" I croak, my voice as hoarse as ever. The man nods in affirmation.

‘I've been out for two days?’

"Can you tell me what exactly happened that night?" he asks, preparing to take notes. I rack my brain to find memories of that night but they are all so fuzzy.

Seeing that I'm having a hard time remembering, the officer helps me out. "The fight close to Ballerz club? You and some guys?"

A flood of memories hit me like a hammer at once and I wince at the headache it triggers. I manage a nod before speaking.

"We had a little misunderstanding inside the club," I glance up at my father when I say the word 'club'. He set a strict rule against clubbing. It tarnishes the family's name and that is unacceptable. He glares at me. "And then, when we left―my friend and I―they attacked us outside."

‘Kevin. Where's Kevin? And Bella! Oh my gosh, I hope she didn't get dragged into this.’

"And then what?" he asks.

"I can only remember being dragged into a vehicle and the rest is foggy. But why am I giving a police statement about the fight?" I ask.

‘It was just a fight right? Why all the questions?’

Dad cuts in before the man can answer for himself. "Because that fight landed you in the hospital, unconscious for two days, overdosing on cocaine!" he is almost yelling.

I look at the officer, ignoring dad completely. "But it was the other guy who was with the cocaine, not me."

"Of course, Jasper!" dad yells, making me jump a little. "But you have been doing drugs too!" I blanch. Everything seems to have stopped. How did I not know that being in the hospital will leak my secret?

‘Who am I kidding? Of course they would eventually find out.’

"You need to calm down, Mr. Lawrence. Now Jasper, I need you to tell me everything you know about this. The cocaine, Kunle, the gang and most importantly, the leader," the officer states, throwing me into a deeper sea of fright.

They know about the gang. They'll think I'm part of it... Well, technically, for getting drugs from them, I'm considered one of them. But I'm not.

I swallow hard before responding. "I hardly know much―"

"Don't you dare, boy," dad's loud voice cuts me off. "You will spill everything you know and have been doing all this while right here, right now."

This time, the officer seems to agree with dad. "Do as your father just said and you might get off the hook without many scratches."

"But I'm not a part of them! Yes, they give me drugs but I made it clear that I don't want to be a member of the group." Anger begins to bubble within me, making my voice even hoarser.

"And they agreed?" the officer asks, his voice calm but authoritative. I'm rendered speechless. "Tell me, Jasper."

I shake my head sombrely before looking away.

"Who is the godfather?" I look at the officer. "Who's the sponsor?"

"I don't know him but they call him godfather, just like you said."

"You're lying. How can you possibly be in a gang without knowing your leader?" dad derides. My eyes snap to his but they don't carry the usual anger I always send his way. I'm just wondering why he hates me so much. He's not this tough with Dave and Luke so why me? Is there something I should know?

I look back at the officer and he speaks. "Look, these people are a dangerous sect. They've killed, they've duped, name it. This is a group we have been trying to track down but they operate in secret, making them invisible to the police and even the public. So please, tell us all you know because Kunle managed to escape. You're our only chance now."

My look turns to a glare. "You want the truth? You want all the information I can give? Let me tell you. I was introduced to drugs by Flash or Kunle, as you know him. Back then, we had just moved to Nigeria. I was desperate, I needed something to calm me down because I couldn't get over certain things. These drugs helped calm me down especially at night when I could hardly sleep. He said the godfather supplies them all they need and they, in return, work for him. At first, Flash would sneak some drugs out for me because I didn't want to be a part of the group but as time went on, he introduced me to one of their leaders, Spike or whatever his name was. They wanted me to join them but I still refused.

"To this day, the leader is convinced I will join them at one point because he seems to have grown a liking towards me. But I'm still not a part of it. I only get those drugs because I. can't. stop." I'm breathing hard from all the talking but I feel a weight lift off my shoulders.

The officer nods slowly as he takes down some words. "So, the leader's name is Spike and Kunle's known name is Flash. No wonder people didn't seem to know him." A thoughtful look plays on his face before he speaks again. "Jasper, thank you very much for cooperating with me. I'll come back if I need any more info." He stands up. "You should check into rehab." And with that, he shakes dad and walks out, leaving us alone.

I refuse to look at my father as he stands there staring at me. The door opens, gaining my attention. Mum steps in, a worried look playing on her face.

"Jas? How are you?" she asks calmly as she steps closer and holds my hand. She places her other hand on my head and begins to smoothen my hair backwards. I simply look down, shame clouding my mind. I owe dad no explanation for my actions but I have definitely broken mum's heart.

The door opens again and this time, a familiar man in scrubs walks in. He's the man who injected me the other time. "Ha, there you are. All calm now. How do you feel?" he inquiries.

"Like shit." The words tumble out before I can control them.

"Language," mum chides lowly.

"Don't worry, you'll feel better. Later on, you'll see a therapist." I look away from him, not interested in whatever he has to say. I don't want to see any freaking therapist.

"You overdosed on cocaine and it had great effects on you, not because that's what cocaine always does but because your system can't take it. Do you understand me?" I nod, finally looking his way with interest.

"Your tolerance is extremely low, which is a little surprising to me. So, we conducted tests and found that you have been taking in a lot of Fentanyl and it appeared that you have been taking a stronger analogue lately. The addition of an overdose of cocaine caused everything that had been accumulating bit by bit, to explode and that's why you had such a terrible experience." Taking the whole information in is a little hard for me but I nod anyway. The man asks to see dad outside and they leave.

Tension immediately fills the room and I know I have to say something. I clear my throat. "Mum?"

"Don't, Jasper. I can't hear you out now." I know she's trying hard to hold back the tears threatening to spill.

I shuffle to sit upright from my leaning position. "Please, let me say this now." She looks at me quietly and I take it as my cue to continue.

"I'm sorry. I know I've disappointed you especially because you made sure to be there whenever I needed you but I still let myself get misled. I'm really sorry," I say.

"What reason did I ever give you to do this? What wrong did I do?"

"You did nothing mum. Dad was―"

"Don't give me that, Jasper! I told you to ignore him. I always made sure to remind you that you're loved and cherished and that you mean the whole world to me yet, you drifted away from me; from us! How do you think Mary will feel? That fragile little girl adores you! But you pushed her away. Do you have any idea the excuses she tries to make up in your absence just so that your dad won't get upset at you? Do you?”

"You refuse to let her in at night like you used to. You think I didn't know all of this? Yet I would tell her that you were too busy and didn't need to be disturbed. I knew that you weren't!" She is panting so hard right now, I feel like engulfing her in a hug and telling her that things will be fine but I can't. Because I don't know if things will be fine.

I didn't even think of Mary.

"I'm sorry." A tear finally escapes. Just then, the door opens and the one person I'm scared of seeing runs in and throws her entire self at me.